Arsenal supporters are delighted with the results on the field, but when it comes to the nature of their Premier League games, many are not happy with Mikel Arteta
Ex-Sky Sports Soccer Saturday host Jeff Stelling has claimed he turned the television off after growing bored of Arsenal’s display against Crystal Palace.
Mikel Arteta’s side dug their heels in deeper at the summit of the Premier League by beating the Eagles 1-0. The Gunners won through their ninth set-piece goal of the domestic campaign, which saw Eberechi Eze pounce onto a knock down and lash in a half-volley against the side he left in the summer.
The north Londoners held on to secure the victory and move four points clear of second-placed Bournemouth and six clear of Manchester City. However, there have been many complaints about the style of football Arteta is imposing.
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Stelling hit out at the Gunners’ boss, claiming his side are playing boring and dull football. Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “You can’t keep on relying on set plays, they just can’t. This is the fourth game they’ve been involved in this season, in nine Premier League games, that’s finished 1-0.
“There is a 1-1 in there as well. They’ve got great players. I love some of the Arsenal players. I love Saka, I love Odegaard when he is playing and I love Eberechi Eze as well.
“But please, be just a bit more expansive. Watching Arsenal against Crystal Palace was like watching paint dry. It was purgatory.
“I started watching that match and I’d had enough by the time Arsenal had a shot, because their first shot was on 33 minutes when they scored their goal. I had turned over by then.”
He is not the only person to blast Arteta’s style of play, as ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth midfielder Jamie O’Hara also believes the Gunners are the ones behind the sudden increase in long throw-ins and more complex set-piece routines.
He said: “But the top teams doing throw-ins? I can’t believe what I’m watching. It’s all down to Arsenal, Arsenal started this. Arsenal started the long throw, the set-pieces. They’ve killed the Premier League in terms of fluid football and enjoyable football.”
Meanwhile, Arteta did acknowledge the fact his side needed another set-play to break the deadlock against Palace. However, the Spaniard was not concerned by the comments others have made about his side.
Arteta said: “It doesn’t make a difference how difficult it is, I think they all have the same value. We are noticing a shift, the moment the physicality increases, methods that are implemented are more efficient.
“And the game is more difficult to play because you can constrain spaces, because physically you are better. You have to find ways to score in different ways and that’s what I think everybody’s trying to do.”
The Gunners host Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round on Wednesday, before travelling to face Burnley in their next Premier League game on November 1.
